See, in today’s world, whether you believe it or not, sexual assaults with little children cases are coming up really fast, and those who couldn’t speak or feared to speak when they were kids, are now speaking up about the scars these things have left on them for life. The same goes in the Greg Laurie Lawsuit and the details are truly horrifying, like just the allegations made in this lawsuit will make your blood boil. So, if you didn’t know much about it yet, just keep on reading then.
Who’s Involved?
If you get down to the details of this case, you’ll find out that Greg Laurie is the main person mentioned in this case, who is actually not just the founder but a senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship down there in Riverside, California. And just in case you’re wondering, yup, he is the one who organizes all those big evangelistic events branded as Harvest Crusades.
And if you talk about the backstory a little more, you’ll get to know how back in the 1990s, the church supported a former pastor and missionary named Paul Havsgaard. And later down the line, he (Havsgaard) actually moved to Romania after the fall of communism and established several children’s homes meant to care for vulnerable children.
But it is only in this lawsuit that we’re getting to know that the real story or the real environment in those homes was very different from what everyone thought at first.
The Allegations
Alrighty, now let’s see what the allegations are: the allegations made in this Greg Laurie lawsuit. Well, first of all, right now, a lot of men out there claim or allege that they were sexually assaulted as kids back when they were living in those Romanian homes run by none other than Havsgaard. And just so you know, we aren’t talking about any small allegations here; the allegations actually include sexual assault, physical abuse, and forced punishment over a long period of time.
Like, pretty much every plaintiff in this case also alleges that yes, Havsgaard used its religious authority to control the children, and yup, that sounds wrong in every way. And many in this case say that they continue to suffer because of all that, like they now experience long term trauma, and things like PTSD. And as per the details of this case, there may be as many as 20 victims in this case, possibly more.
How Harvest Christian Fellowship Is Connected
Just in case you’re looking for that Harvest Christian Fellowship connection in all this, well, just know that Paul Havsgaard was reportedly a long-time pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship before leaving for Romania. And? From the very get-go, no doubt, the church supported his mission financially, at times sending around $17,000 per month.
And it is in the details of this case that we found out that the concerns were raised over the years by donors, visitors, and others about poor conditions and possible abuse. That wasn’t it, though, there is an instance of 2004 when church leaders actually visited Romania and allegedly observed troubling signs, including inappropriate situations involving children. And they did nothing about it back then. They did, kinda, but nothing was done about it, like one time, a visiting pastor reportedly urged the church to remove Havsgaard immediately.
The Church’s Response
Well, as you might have seen it coming from miles away, sure enough, Harvest Christian Fellowship has strongly denied all these allegations made by the plaintiffs in this case. That’s not it, though, the Church simply says that this lawsuit is just fake and false narrative to target their good image. And there could be a possible attempt at financial extortion in this case, the Church says clearly.
